How Appealing

Friday, November 21, 2008

"High court could hear al-Marri case; U.S. Supreme Court has never ruled on similar 'enemy combatant' cases": The Journal Star of Peoria, Illinois has posted online this evening an article that begins, "One of the most controversial legal matters in the ongoing war on terror got its start in Peoria, some seven years after a simple traffic stop. That traffic stop garnered the attention of federal authorities and three months, later, Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri was arrested at his West Peoria apartment in December 2001, and held as a material witness in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks."
Posted at 09:25 PM by Howard Bashman


"Latest Development in Jones Day Trademark Abuse Case": This post appeared Wednesday at Public Citizen's "Consumer Law & Policy Blog."

In my post about this development from last Friday, I wrote that "the ruling is not yet available online." It's available online now, however, at this link.
Posted at 09:15 PM by Howard Bashman



"An Empirical Invesigation into Appellate Structure and the Perceived Quality of Appellate Review": Law Professors Jonathan Remy Nash and Rafael I. Pardo have this article in the November 2008 issue of the Vanderbilt Law Review (via "Sentencing Law and Policy").
Posted at 09:05 PM by Howard Bashman


Only in the Ninth Circuit? The Metropolitan News-Enterprise today contains an article headlined "Ninth Circuit Reverses Sleeping Felon's Firearm Possession Conviction" that begins, "A divided panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday reversed a man's felon-in-possession-of-firearms conviction because he was asleep when police officers found him on a couch in an abandoned apartment with one gun on his lap and another leaning against his leg."

News from earlier this month reminded us that passed-out people are at risk of being turned into a surface for often crude graffiti. And now we learn, courtesy of yesterday's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, that sleeping felons may be used as a storage site for firearms.

Fortunately, at least two Ninth Circuit judges on the three-judge panel that produced yesterday's ruling were unwilling to see sleeping felons be found guilty of additional federal criminal charges for having been exploited in that manner.
Posted at 04:55 PM by Howard Bashman



"A backside brouhaha": Today at The Boston Globe's "Brainiac" blog, Christopher Shea has a post that begins, "What, exactly, are the buttocks? The FCC and ABC, Inc., are duking it out over that profound question, which has now reached the federal appeals court for the Second Circuit. The debate has drawn in some of the country's top legal advocates. Seth Waxman, for example, who leads the appellate practice at the elite firm WilmerHale, has been mentioned as a possible Supreme Court nominee during Barack Obama's presidential term. But first he will make the bold argument, on behalf of ABC, that the buttocks are not a 'sexual or excretory organ.' Never have been, never will be -- whatever the anatomically illiterate FCC says."

Hmm, that sounds like an appellate brief that I should be posting online here at "How Appealing."

Update: You can access ABC's opening brief on appeal at this link. You can access the FCC's appellate brief in response at this link.
Posted at 04:22 PM by Howard Bashman



"Mukasey feeling better, checks out of hospital": The Associated Press provides this updated report.

The Washington Post has a news update headlined "Mukasey Released From Hospital."

And The New York Times has a news update headlined "Mukasey Leaves the Hospital."

Given this good news, a possible alternate title for the post immediately below could be "But did she stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night?" (access related video at this link).
Posted at 01:23 PM by Howard Bashman



More information concerning last night's Federalist Society dinner: A longtime reader of this blog emails:
The doctor who happened to be in the audience, and rushed to the podium to treat Mukasey, and went with him in the ambulance to the hospital, is Dr. Lisa Cooper, M.D., an emergency room specialist who is the wife of Matt Cooper. Dr. Cooper practices emergency medicine for a hospital in Houston. Matt Cooper is an associate with Gibbs & Bruns in Houston.
According to Matt's law firm bio, he not only is a Harvard Law graduate, but he also served as a captain in the Air Force before law school and clerked for a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit after law school. Thanks much to the source of this information for sending it along!
Posted at 11:54 AM by Howard Bashman


"Gov't: AG doing better after collapse." The Associated Press provides this updated report.
Posted at 11:02 AM by Howard Bashman


"Lawyers who win public-interest lawsuits are entitled to payment, California Supreme Court rules; Suits that result in important rights being enforced typically target government agencies": Carol J. Williams has this article today in The Los Angeles Times.

You can access yesterday's ruling of the Supreme Court of California at this link.
Posted at 09:35 AM by Howard Bashman



"Court: Sex-offender law unfairly restrictive." Today in The San Francisco Chronicle, Bob Egelko has an article that begins, "A voter-approved law prohibiting sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school or a park amounts to additional punishment for the offenders' original crimes, a state appeals court has ruled in a case that could affect thousands of parolees."

You can access at this link Wednesday's ruling of California's Court of Appeal for the Fourth Appellate District, Division Three.
Posted at 09:32 AM by Howard Bashman



"Court overturns 1991 murder conviction of Arizona teen who confessed; 8-year-old's interrogation is similar; Johnathan Doody -- said to have slain nine at a Buddhist temple -- was questioned at length with no adult support; This month, so was a third-grader accused of killing his father and a boarder": Carol J. Williams has this article today in The Los Angeles Times.

And The Arizona Republic reports today that "New trial ordered in 1991 Buddhist temple killings; Court: Admission to 9 murders forced."

My earlier coverage of yesterday's Ninth Circuit ruling appears at this link.
Posted at 09:22 AM by Howard Bashman



"Lori Drew didn't create MySpace page used to harass Megan Miers, witness says": This article appears today in The St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Today in The Los Angeles Times, Scott Glover reports that "Mother saw MySpace plan as clever, witness says; A family friend says she helped Lori Drew create a bogus MySpace profile to 'expose' a teenager who later committed suicide."

And The New York Times reports that "Woman Who Posed as Boy Testifies in Case That Ended in Suicide of 13-Year-Old."
Posted at 09:17 AM by Howard Bashman



"3 Indicted In Alleged Coverup of D.C. Killing": The Washington Post today contains an article that begins, "Three men at the center of an enduring murder mystery in an elegant Dupont Circle townhouse have been indicted on obstruction of justice charges as police continue to investigate the slaying of Robert Wone, a rising star in Washington's legal community who was fatally stabbed two years ago while staying overnight at the home."

And yesterday evening, "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times" had a post titled "Bail For Arent Fox Partner Set at $100,000."
Posted at 09:03 AM by Howard Bashman



"Conservative Federalist Society Can Expect Its Status to Shrink": Robert Barnes has this article today in The Washington Post.
Posted at 08:57 AM by Howard Bashman


"Mukasey Collapses During Address in Washington; Hospitalized Overnight": The Washington Post provides this news update.

The Associated Press reports that "Mukasey takes get-well call from Bush."

The Los Angeles Times reports today that "Mukasey collapses during speech; The attorney general is hospitalized, his condition unclear."

The Washington Times reports today that "Mukasey collapses during D.C. speech; 'Alert' and talking at hospital."

USA Today reports that "Mukasey falls unconscious during speech."

In The Wall Street Journal, Evan Perez reports that "Attorney General Mukasey Collapses During Speech."

Also today in The Wall Street Journal, Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey has an op-ed entitled "Al Qaeda Detainees and Congress's Duty: Habeas corpus hearings could set terrorists free inside the U.S."
Posted at 08:55 AM by Howard Bashman



"Court Says Shell Can't Drill Near Alaska": Today's edition of The New York Times contains an article that begins, "A federal appeals court on Thursday blocked Royal Dutch Shell from drilling oil wells off Alaska's North Slope after finding that the Interior Department had failed to conduct an environmental study before issuing the company's drilling permit."

The Los Angeles Times reports today that "Appeals court rules against Arctic drilling plan; In a 2-1 decision, the court orders a more thorough environmental review of the proposed offshore oil drilling project's effect on fish and endangered bowhead whales."

The Associated Press reports that "Court orders review of Beaufort drilling plan; Federal appeals court orders more agency review of Shell drilling plans in Beaufort Sea."

And Reuters reports that "Court voids Shell's Beaufort Sea drilling plan."

You can access yesterday's ruling by a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link.
Posted at 08:50 AM by Howard Bashman



"Judge Declares Five Detainees Held Illegally": The New York Times today contains an article that begins, "A federal judge issued the Bush administration a sharp setback on Thursday, ruling that five Algerian men have been held unlawfully at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp for nearly seven years and ordering their release."

In The Los Angeles Times, David G. Savage reports today that "Judge orders release of 5 Guantanamo prisoners; The government's case against five Algerian natives, accused of plotting with Al Qaeda, is weak, a federal judge in Washington says."

The Washington Post reports that "5 at Guantanamo Ordered Released; Men Not Considered Enemy Combatants." In addition, the newspaper contains an editorial entitled "'Enough': A court's ruling exposes the travesty of holding 'enemy combatants' on flimsy -- or nonexistent -- evidence." And Benjamin Wittes has an op-ed entitled "Wrenching Choices on Guantanamo."

Jess Bravin of The Wall Street Journal reports that "Judge Orders 5 Gitmo Inmates Released."

Marisa Taylor of McClatchy Newspapers reports that "Judge orders release of 5 Guantanamo detainees."

And The Washington Times reports that "Federal judge orders five Gitmo detainees freed."

You can access yesterday's ruling of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia at this link.
Posted at 08:35 AM by Howard Bashman



"Obama to delay repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell'; Advisers see consensus building before lifting ban on gays": This article appears today in The Washington Times.
Posted at 08:27 AM by Howard Bashman


"Insurer to seek Joyce payment; Erie Insurance wants restitution; State Farm's plans remain unclear": Today's edition of The Erie (Pa.) Times-News contains an article that begins, "Michael T. Joyce, once one of the top legal authorities in the state, called his $390,000 settlement with Erie Insurance Group a contract. A jury of 12 ordinary citizens who examined Joyce's claim in a federal courtroom called it a crime. Now Joyce faces the possibility of having to return the $390,000 to Erie Insurance, which said Thursday it will seek restitution."
Posted at 08:17 AM by Howard Bashman


"Gay rights advocates forced to adjust agenda; Shift focus away from marriage to key civil rights": This article appears today in USA Today.

The Miami Herald reports today that "Florida gay rights activists ready to fight threat to benefits; Gay rights activists are ready to go to court to defend domestic partnerships they say will be threatened by the new constitutional ban on same-sex marriage."

The Hartford Courant reports that "Same-Sex Couples First Must Find A Willing And Able Cleric."

The Christian Science Monitor contains an article headlined "California Supreme Court to hear challenges to gay-marriage ban; Opponents argue that the ballot initiative amounts to a revision of the state constitution."

The Orange County Register reports that "Lawsuit to overturn Prop. 8 may face uphill battle; Although the state Supreme Court previously ruled in favor of gay marriage, the latest challenges face a tougher fight."

And The New York Times contains a news analysis headlined "With Same-Sex Marriage, a Court Takes on the People's Voice."
Posted at 08:05 AM by Howard Bashman



"Transition team makes advisers on Constitution a priority": Today in USA Today, Joan Biskupic has an article that begins, "Among the priorities of President-elect Barack Obama's legal team is an obscure Justice Department division that tends to emerge into public view only when things go wrong. During the Bush years, it gained notoriety for memos giving interrogators wide latitude on using coercive techniques with foreign detainees."
Posted at 08:02 AM by Howard Bashman


"A Federal District Judge's Clash with a Repeat Litigant: An Unusual Case with Larger Ramifications For How We Define Justice and Fairness." Edward Lazarus has this essay online at FindLaw.
Posted at 07:58 AM by Howard Bashman


Available online from law.com: An article reports that "11th Circuit Raises Big Questions by Delving Into Death Row Case."

And Shannon P. Duffy has an article headlined "3rd Circuit: Parents Can't Sue Under No Child Left Behind Act." My earlier coverage of yesterday's Third Circuit ruling appears at this link.
Posted at 07:52 AM by Howard Bashman



"Justice O'Connor Sits on 3rd Circuit Panel Hearing UPS Challenge to ADA Class Action": Shannon P. Duffy has this article today in The Legal Intelligencer.

And today's edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer contains articles headlined "A big day in Third Circuit court" and "Justice O'Connor goes back to school."
Posted at 07:48 AM by Howard Bashman



"Federalist Society Panel Debates Discipline for Federal Judges": A post yesterday evening at "The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times" begins, "When a federal judge messes up and has to be disciplined, how much does the public deserve to know? That was the question put to a panel of experts this afternoon at the Federalist Society's 2008 National Lawyers Convention."
Posted at 07:40 AM by Howard Bashman


"Mukasey Collapses During Address in Washington; Condition Unknown": This article appears today in The Washington Post.

The New York Times reports today that "Attorney General Collapses During Speech."

Via YouTube, you can access this video from ABC 7 News in Washington, DC. And video from Fox News can be viewed here and here.

The latest coverage from The Associated Press can be accessed here.
Posted at 12:14 AM by Howard Bashman




From the Law.com Newswire:


Click to open links in new
     windows

Advertise on Legal Blogs

Related Blogs

20 Questions for the
 Appellate Judge


How Appealing Extra

My Appellate Columns
Especially Appealing Blogs

Above the Law

ACSBlog

Adam Smith, Esq.

Althouse

Bag and Baggage

Balkinization

The Becker-Posner Blog

Bench Memos

The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times

Concurring Opinions

Confirm Them

The Confrontation Blog

Decision of the Day

de novo

Discriminations

Dorf on Law

Drug and Device Law

Election Law

Ernie the Attorney

InstaPundit.Com

INTEL DUMP

Jack Bog's Blog

Jeremy Blachman's Brand New Weblog

LawBeat

Legalities

Legal Theory

Notes from the (Legal) Underground

PrawfsBlawg

Professor Bainbridge.com

Religion Clause

SCOTUSblog

Sentencing Law and Policy

TalkLeft: The Politics of Crime

TaxProf Blog

Throwing Things

tonypierce.com + busblog

The Volokh Conspiracy

Wonkette

Workplace Prof Blog

WSJ.com's Law Blog

Other Links

abcNEWS.com's The Note

The Associated Press Newswire

Best of the Web Today

The Corner

McSweeney's Internet Tendency

Movie Review Query Engine

Obscure Store & Reading Room

The Onion

Overlawyered.com

PointofLaw.com

Salon

Slate

Tapped

Even More Blogs

The 10b-5 Daily

Abstract Appeal

The Agitator

Alas, a blog

AndrewSullivan.com

Anonymous Lawyer

Appellate Law & Practice

Balloon Juice

The Baseball Crank

Beautiful Confusion

Begging The Question

Begging to Differ

Behind the Homefront

Benefitsblog

BenMaller.com

beSpacific

Betsy's Page

Big Picnic

bIPlog

The Bitch Girls

the bitter shack of resentment

The Bleat

Blithering Idiot

The Blog from the Core

Blonde Justice

Blue Mass. Group

Body and Soul

Boing Boing

Braves Journal

Brendan O'Neill

Brian Peterson's Legal Weblog

Brothers Judd Blog

The Buck Stops Here

BuffaloWings&Vodka

Cacciaguida

Calblog

California Insider

Captain Indignant's Fortress of Peevishness

Chicago Boyz

Civil Liberties Watch

Class Maledictorian

Clayton Cramer's BLOG

a clever sheep

ColbyCosh.com

The Comedian

Common Sense and Wonder

Conglomerate

CONTENT / v.3

Copyfight: The politics of IP

Corp Law Blog

Corsair the Rational Pirate

crabwalk.com

Criminal Appeal

CrimLaw

Critical Mass

Crooked Timber

Croooow Blog

Current copyright readings

cut on the bias

DailyPundit.com

Daimnation!

Daniel W. Drezner

Dave Copeland

Deadly Mantis

Dean's World

death by committee

Delaware Law Office

Disputation

The Doc Searls Weblog

Doxagora

Dr. Weevil

Dubyanell Feds

easily distracted

effinchamp

Electrolite

EmoryLaw Student.com: Adam

Eric's Weblog

Eve Tushnet.com

excited utterances

explodedlibrary.info

FalconRed goes to Law School

Final Protective Fire

the fog of warre

for the sake of clarity

Fourth Amendment.com

Froggi's update

Frothing at the Mouth

FurdLog

Gawker

GeekPress

Geodog's MT Weblog

George's Employment Blawg

Gideon's Blog

Grant M Henninger

GreenGourd's Garden

GrepLaw

grrrl meets world

Half the Sins of Mankind

Heh. Indeed.

Hit & Run

HobbsOnline

Hoplites

Hose Monster Blog

HowardOwens.com

Howling Point

HughHewitt.com

Ichiblog

The Importance Of

inappropriate response

Inchoate

In Context

The Indiana Law Blog

infoAnarchy

Insolvent Republic Of Blogistan

Inter Alia

Interrobang

Ipse Dixit

IsThatLegal?

Jens 'n' Frens

Jewish Buddha

Jim Dedman

Joanne Jacobs.com

Joe Gratz's blog

John Scalzi's Whatever

joyfulchristian

Jumping To Conclusions

Kausfiles

Ken Layne

Kieran Healy's Weblog

The Kitchen Cabinet

KittySays

Kiwi Pundit

Kyle Still Free Press

l8r

Law Dork

LawMeme

Lawrence Lessig

Law School UNconfidential

LawSites

Legal Fiction

Legal Ramblings

The Legal Reader

The Leiter Reports: Editorials, News, Updates

Letters of Marque

Lex Communis

Life, Law, Libido

The Light of Reason

The Lincoln Plawg

little green footballs

Log -- David Chess

Lonestar Expat

Lonewacko

Lucpher.com

The Manifest Border

Mansfield Fox

Man Without Qualities

Mark A.R. Kleiman

Marstonalia

Matthew Yglesias

MaxSpeak Weblog

MC Estoppel

Media Dragon

Mellow-Drama

Mercurial

Michael J. Totten

Mirthful Ones

moxie.nu | blog

ms. morality

MyFreePress.com

Natalie Solent

NathanNewman.org

Neal Pollack's The Maelstrom

Nerdlaw.org

The Neutral Zone Trap

nikita demosthenes

Ninomania

No Left Turns

Notes from the (1L) Underground

No Watermelons Allowed

Nuts and Boalts

Off the Kuff

Off the Pine

Oliver Willis

One Fine Jay

One Maven

Open Book

OrinKerr.com

Oscar Jr. Was Here

Outside the Beltway

Overpundit

Overtaken by Events

OxBlog

Oy Vey!

Paper Chase

Parkway Rest Stop

Pathetic Earthlings

Patio Pundit

Patterico's Pontifications

Paul's Boutique

The Perpetual Three-Dot Column

Phillip Coons

PhotoDude.com

PIKER

Political Animal

Political Parrhesia

Political State Report

Power Line

Prince Roy's Realm

Public Defender Dude

Q Daily News

Quare

rabbit blog

Rachel Lucas

Rain Man 2

Random Jottings

Rantophilia

The Rattler

rc3.org

RealityChecker.org

Reason & Liberty

Refference

Regions of Mind

The Remedy

Res Ipsa Loquitur

RiShawn Biddle's The Usual Suspect

The Rittenhouse Review

Robert Fortuno's Weblog

Roger's View

Rory Perry's Weblog

Running With Lawyers

Samizdata.net

Sarah Eve Kelly

Sarah Lai Stirland

sasnaK

A Sassy Lawyer in Philippine Suburbia

Scoobie Davis Online

ScrappleFace

Scripting News

sean.harding

Second Opinions

Second p0st

The Securities Law Beacon

Seeking for Righteousness

Semi-Daily Journal

The Shout

Shouting 'Cross the Potomac

Silflay Hraka

Simone Koo

skippy the bush kangaroo

The Slithery D

Snark Attack

SnarkSpot

Sneaking Suspicions

The Sound And Fury

South Dakota Politics

The Spoons Experience

Sporadic Thoughts

SteveSachs

Stop the Bleating!

sugarmama

Sugar, Mr. Poon?

Sugarpoet.com

superficial intelligence

Supreme Court Blog

Susan Crawford blog

SW Virginia law blog

Taegan Goddard's
Political Wire


taiwanon.com

the talking dog

Talking Points Memo

TarheelPundit

TBOGG

Tech Law Advisor

Terebi II

Texas Law Blog

that abby girl's journal

That Broken Girl

That's News To Me

The Third Branch

Tierney's WeblAG

Tim Blair

Tom Tomorrow

The Trademark Blog

Troppo Armadillo

trr

The Truth Laid Bear

Tutissima Cassis

uggabugga

unbillable hours

UnivAtty

Unqualified Offerings

Uppity-Negro.com

urban nomad

U.S. Supreme Court Blog

UXblog

vigilant.tv

The Ville

Votelaw

vpostrel.com

Waddling Thunder

walterindenver

WampumBlog

WarLiberal.com

The Week in Review

William Burton

Will Work for Favorable Dicta

The Wired GC

WOIFM

Woman of the law

Xrlq's Blog

A Yank in Oz

The Yin Blog

Yourish.com

zonitics.com

#!/usr/bin/geek